Archives

BIO

“Since the ripe old age of 5, I had that zest for storytelling. With a camera always in tow, my dad would never miss an opportunity to capture life as it happened with me giving the play by play. :)”

Kristen Kenney is a passionate storyteller, host, activist, world explorer and malaria fighter.

She grew up a Navy brat, having traveled all over the States, before landing in Virginia Beach. At a young age Kristen knew she wanted to tell stories as a living. She went on to study broadcast journalism and play D1 soccer at Elon University in North Carolina before transferring to the University of Miami, where she earned her BS in Communications.

In 2007, Kristen found her ‘professional’ voice as a correspondent for PBS in Orlando, and quickly discovered her passion for social enterprise and inspiring others to make a difference.

She had the once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Africa to star in an award-winning documentary (Tanzania A Journey Within). It was in Tanzania when she learned a thing or two about survival in the developing world. She climbed Kilimanjaro, lived with tribes and is lucky to be alive after a near-deadly encounter with a malaria mosquito. She was bed ridden for four days on an IV, and barely survived. Kristen immediately found inspiration in this life-threatening experience and took action. Leveraging her television background as a platform, she founded the “Buy A Bracelet, Save A Life” movement and non-profit Malaika (angel) For Life – (501c3) with her best friend/co-founder, Anna Wascher. Malaika For Life is a global movement inspiring others that they can make a difference with their purchase. Kristen was recently a guest on the nationally televised show, The Doctors, and her malaria story is the most-watchedAOLoriginal.

A former D1 athlete, Kristen always had a passion for those human interest sports stories like “The Million Dollar Arm.” She began her sports broadcast career with FOX Sports Next as a college football recruiting correspondent in Washington, DC. She broke several national stories on the recruiting front, while also creating original content for FOX Sports Digital. Shortly after, she was selected to cover the London 2012 Olympics, and her career blossomed.

ATHLETE:

D-1 soccer player at the University of Miami, NYC marathoner and Mt Kilimanjaro conquerer. Kristen is not afraid to get her hands dirty. Kristen was most notably selected to cover the London 2012 Olympic Games for FOX Sports and the World University Games for ESPNU. She covered college hoops for CBS Sports Network, and was in the trenches for the National Collegiate Paintball Championships, also on CBS. She worked as a one-WOMAN-show for FOX Sports NEXT, covering college football, National Signing Day, ACC Media Days, the NFL combine and bowl games.

A self starter, she purchased a green screen and created and hosted The Kenney Kountdown and The Recruiting Hotline on FOX Sports Digital.

WORLD EXPLORER:

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Surviving malaria. Going local. Living in villages in Africa. Skiing the double blacks in Utah. All things that are normal fare in Kristen’s world.

In 2009, she pitched a docu-series that found herself and an Emmy award-winning crew in Tanzania, Africa. The series was turned into a documentary called Tanzania A Journey Within, documenting her journey to her friend’s village in Tanzania where she contracted malaria and almost died. The documentary has won festival awards and opened in theaters Spring 2014.

YOUTHFUL HOST:

Energetic. Youthful. Playful. TomBoy. Whether covering sports or entertainment, Kristen engages her audience and whomever she interviews with her youthful and playful demeanor. She doesn’t have to work hard to make a connection. It’s all natural.